Another batch of Dry-Aged Rib Eyes

[muebe]

Went to Costco and picked up 15+ pound Choice rib-eye roast. They did not have any Prime :'(

My local Costco is limited on it's Prime selection. Probably due to the area I live. Just not enough rich folks. But the Choice will still be good!

Here is the monster...





Now into the UMAi dry-aging bag. It is important not to rinse the meat off after removing from the cryo-vac bag. I just cut the end and squeeze out the excess blood. Then slip the cryo-vac bag into the UMAi bag. Then pull off the cryo-vac bag while it is in the UMAi bag...



Now this is their largest bag. It is several inches wider than my Foodsaver sealer. So I fold each end inward so that the width is equal to the maximum with of my Foodsaver. Then use surgical tape(wife is a RN) to hold the fold in place. Then I insert the vac mouse inserts on each end so that my sealer wll be able to pull vacuum on the UMAi bag...





Now I lift the top of the Foodsaver up and over so the internals are exposed. Then I make sure that the bag is lined up just past the point it needs to be with the Foodsaver. Then drop the Foodsaver top back down onto the bag. Then make sure the Foodsaver is powered up of course then slide the bag back a little bit using both hands on each side of the bag. Then wiggle it forward until it activates. If it errors wiggle it back and forward again. It might take a couple tries. Once it starts pulling vacuum you should be good. Help work the air out of the bag as it draws vacuum. Now it might not get enough vacuum to automatically stop so you will need to hit stop to start the sealing process once all the air is worked out of the bag...



After your done it should look similar to this...



Then you will need to create a second seal using the same process as the first time. You will just make sure the bag is further out a bit so the second seal is forward of the first. As soon as the Foodsaver starts to pull vacuum hit the stop button so the sealing process will start. Here is a picture of the second seal...





Now I forgot to mention this but this info goes for both the seals. After the UMAi bag is done sealing give it a few seconds to cool before removing from the sealer. And DO NOT pull the bag out of the Foodsaver. Lift the top to expose the internals and gently lift the bag off the seal. If you pull away you might tear the bag. Here is a pic...



Close up of the completed double seal...



Bag labeled with date packed and weight...



Now into the garage fridge for the 30 day aging process. I will keep this thread posted with pictures showing the dry aging progression. This thing will yield quite a few dry-aged beauties

The first time I tried using the UMAi bags with my sealer I was cussing and screaming. But now I have the process down and it is easy peasy. I hope this helps anyone else trying to dry-age using the UMAi bags with a Foodsaver upright sealer.

[CDN Smoker]

I was the one making all the noise, lol.

If you are going to try this buy extra bags and waste one just practicing what Muebe is showing here. We have the same vac sealer and it was not easy.

Do not use the type of sealer with the exposed wire that heats up, way to hard.

I am 4 days ahead of you. Myself with buddies put down 3 rib eyes. We are going to take one at 21 days and the other 2 at 28 days.

[Pappymn]

Great write up sir. Thanks

[muebe]

I was the one making all the noise, lol.

If you are going to try this buy extra bags and waste one just practicing what Muebe is showing here. We have the same vac sealer and it was not easy.

Do not use the type of sealer with the exposed wire that heats up, way to hard.

I am 4 days ahead of you. Myself with buddies put down 3 rib eyes. We are going to take one at 21 days and the other 2 at 28 days.

It will be easy next time

[CDN Smoker]

This is a great topic, might as well get all the possible questions out there. Really wish you had posted your method earlier. 

This is the foodsaver brand I have, V3840. This style has an auto-matic start, meaning when you slide in the regular vac bag they are stiff enough to push the sensors to start the pump. This is where I was having my biggest heart ache. The dry bags are thin and would not push the sensors.

To get around this I opened up the food saver, laid out my dry bag, closed it back up then slid in enough regular vac bag on top to start the pump.

I also like your idea of the vac mouse at both edges.

One question, do you Trim back the dry bag? I did not in case I had to reseal.

[muebe]

No I don't trim back the bag. The extra space makes the liquid take longer to reach the sealing point and if you mess up the seal you still have bag left to work with.

The vacuum does not need to be as strong as a regular vac seal bag. As the meat dries the first few days the bag will be drawn to the meat. It will become a second skin. The main thing is to remove as much air as you can and get a good seal.

[Keymaster]

That's already a nice hunk of meat that's even going to be so much better I went to the umai site and saw they have dry Salami kits and supplies now, I really want to try that

[Palmyrasteak]

Looks GOOD 

[RickB]

The vertical foodsavers make this process bit of a pain. The horizontal make it much easier.

[muebe]

The vertical foodsavers make this process bit of a pain. The horizontal make it much easier.

Rick after figuring out a method to work with I got it done without a problem. Trying the way they show in the video on their site makes things harder with this sealer IMHO. Once I developed my own method it worked much better.

[RickB]

I was surprised you didnt do the corner seal like they recommend. Worked great for me. Got it the first time.

[muebe]

I was surprised you didnt do the corner seal like they recommend. Worked great for me. Got it the first time.

The bag is so thin that it will seal when folded over.

[sliding_billy]

Man will those be good!

[muebe]

Well it has been 21 days. Out of the bag at 13lbs. Started at 15.6lbs...





Time to start slicing steaks...



Got Twelve 1 inch thick dry aged rib-eyes...





After trimming the bark and fat I ended up with 10.2lbs of steaks...





Vac sealed into 2 packs and into the freezer...



So here is the break down...

Starting weight = 15.6lbs
Weight after drying 21 days = 13lbs
Total weight of 12 one inch thick steaks = 10.2lbs
There was also some meat left on the ends that could not be made into steaks. I trimmed the bark off the ends and thin sliced the meat for later. That was about 1/4 pound.

The rest of the weight is bark and fat. The fat would have been trimmed regardless of the dry-aging process and was quite a lot. These are going to be some great tasting steaks!

[RickB]

Looks great Mike! Mine are coming out this weekend. Going to find out if the prime was worth it!